First Footage From 'Game Of Thrones' Season 7 Is A Stark Reminder Of Who Is In Charge

tweet: tomtomchap Warden of the North - bearded, tattooed and square eyed 'til the end

Winter has come, and while the long and frosty wait until the (delayed) seventh season of Game of Thrones is more agonizing than being tortured by Ramsay Bolton, there is a glimmer of new footage on the horizon. Along with dark and spoilery posts that leak the entire plot of the season, we have started to get some official releases about what to expect. The tantalizing first teaser for Season 7 has just dropped and is a "Stark" reminder that one certainly family isn't down for the count yet.

It has been a rocky first six seasons for the wolf-loving family: from having Daddy beheaded outside King's Landing, to your mother's slit-throat corpse chucked in a river, and your youngest brother being unable to zig-zag away from arrows. However, could the final two seasons be on the up for Sansa, Arya, and Bran (Jon too, but *spoilers* he doesn't really count)?

Tying in with our other guilty pleasure, Westworld, a very brief teaser aired with "Episode 9" of the robot romp, which excitingly teased "Coming in 2017" for #GameOfThrones.

The official video is still MIA, but some crafty maester screen-grabbed the images before Melisandre's shadow demons whisked them off into the night. Here's what you can expect: There is your classic shot of Jon Snow looking concerned, Sansa looking concerned, and Arya looking concerned. Basically, they may all look concerned, but with a promised family reunion, they really shouldn't.

Snow Reason To Stay

Screenshot from @GoT_Tyrion, 'Game of Thrones' [Credit: HBO]

After the reveal that there could be Targaryen blood coursing through his veins, Season 7 will be even bigger for Kit "bastard" Harington's Jon Snow. Standing on the battlements of Winterfell, Snow appears to be having a heart-to-heart with Sansa. This is presumably their final scene together, Snow is rumored to leave Sansa in charge of the ancestral stronghold to go on his big boy's adventure to join team Daenerys.

The "Turner-ing" Of The Tides

Screenshot from @GoT_Tyrion, 'Game of Thrones' [Credit: HBO]

Having arguably the biggest journey of any character, Sophie Turner's Sansa has had to grow up pretty fast. So how will she cope as the disillusioned girl forced to hold down the fort while the King in the North goes on his summer vacation? The imagery suggests that Sansa will be spending a little reflective time in the Godswood, and as you may remember, her most recent encounter there was with slimy Petyr Baelish. Rumors suggest that Baelish could finally come unstuck this season by playing the two Stark girls off against each other.

The Stark lore saw that the dearly deceased Ned Stark would always visit the family woods after carrying out an execution (as seen in "Episode 1"), so is Sansa heading here after carrying out another muuuuuuurder? After her tearing apart of Ramsay Snow, the Lady of Winterfell is becoming quite the little Arya Stark assassin and Baelish could be in her sights!

Arya Back Yet?

Screenshot from @GoT_Tyrion, 'Game of Thrones' [Credit: HBO]

While the last season's tangent for Arya may go down in infamy as one of the show's worst plotlines *cough* Dorne *cough*, it looks like Arya will finally be back on familiar soil in Season 7. With a young Maisie Williams back in Northern clothing, and far away from the sunny shores of Braavos, the teaser seemingly confirms that she will be heading back to Winterfell to meet up with her sister. It is also thought that a Hodor-less Bran will also cross the threshold at some point next season, meaning a full family get-together. With Winterfell back under Stark control, expect the family to go from strength to strength in the fight for the world's most uncomfortable chair.

'Game of Thrones' [Credit: HBO]

With Jon declaring his allegiance to Daenerys, it remains to be seen whether the Starks will also bend the knee to the Mother of Dragons. Given their family history with the Lannisters, it is safe to assume they would pick the lesser of two evils; everyone else seems to be flying the dragon flags, so why not hop on the bandwagon?

Game of Thrones Season 7 airs on #HBO and Sky Atlantic in summer 2017, with newcomer Jim Broadbent joining the established cast of Harington, Williams, Turner, Lena Headey and Emilia Clarke. As we enter the final two (shortened) seasons of the Ice and Fire saga, expect more than a few fan-favorites to meet their Many-Faced maker.

If your memory is a little foggy, catch up on the Season 6 finale in 60 seconds, and don't forget our poll below!